Tobacco

The Spink County Coalition plans to use a $25,000 state grant it received to create a tobacco prevention curriculum. That includes sending high school students to talk to elementary school kids about tobacco, bringing in experts to educate youth and putting up signs indicating tobacco-free areas, said Le Ann Wasmoen, coordinator for the coalition. The experts, from Minnesota Tobacco Free Youth Recreation, will also help assess what the coalition might to do prevent tobacco use among youth, she said.

South Dakota residents might live longer than the average age of 78.6 if it weren't for tobacco, a state medical official said. The state ranks 20th in average life expectancy in the U.S., according to the American Human Development Report. The top three causes of death in South Dakota are heart disease, cancer and chronic respiratory disease, said Lon Kightlinger, epidemiologist at the South Dakota Department of Health. "Tobacco is a big risk factor in all of the top three leading causes of death in South Dakota," Kightlinger said.

The Eureka Junior Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter members are carrying out a tobacco use prevention project. They attended Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) training in Aberdeen. The group invited Rick Bender to speak to all Eureka students about his addiction to tobacco and his battle with jaw cancer. Bender began using chewing tobacco at age 12 and was diagnosed with cancer at age 26. He underwent four major surgeries to remove the cancer. He lost a third of his tongue, half of his jaw and a fourth of the use of his right arm, and he almost lost his life.

Smoking was an important part of the life of a well-to-do gentleman in the 19th century. A cigar after dinner was routine. Smoking paraphernalia was created not only to be useful, but to show off wealth. Collectors today still search for all kinds of tobacco-related items, although smoking has lost favor. Pipes, ashtrays, cigar holders, lighters, cigarette or cigar cases, cigarette or cigar boxes, cigarette dispensers and smoking stands are collected. Some collectors want commercial packaging and advertising, including cigar box labels and wooden boxes, packs of matches, cigar bands, cigarettes packs, trade cards for tobacco products, cut-out newspaper and magazine ads, large posters and other store ads, and store cigar lighters and cabinets.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? A Native American prison inmate group has filed a federal lawsuit against the South Dakota Department of Corrections, calling a new policy that bans the use of tobacco during religious ceremonies discriminatory. The Native American Council of Tribes is asking for a preliminary injunction. The Sioux Falls-based group says that for Native American prayer to be effective, it must be embodied in tobacco and offered within a ceremonial framework. Warden Doug Weber says in a letter that the department made the Oct. 19 policy change after consulting with spiritual leaders because tobacco tie and pipe mixtures were becomingly increasingly abused.

Aberdeen Central High School As Aberdeen Central High School students and staff unpacked dozens of boxes, the display began to take shape. Hundreds of shoes - boots, sneakers, sandals, even heels - were carefully put into rows. And when space ran out on the floor, the shoes were stacked on top of one another. The finished product - 1,200 pairs of shoes - greeted students when they left school on Tuesday and when they arrived on Wednesday. "In the U.S., 1,200 people die each day from tobacco-related illnesses," said Stacy Bauer, a prevention counselor for the Aberdeen School District.

Many people believe that marijuana should be legalized. I am against the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Unfortunately, I think a couple of states have already done so. A few years ago, I read an article in Reader's Digest Magazine in which an expert stated that the risk of developing lung cancer is 10 times greater for marijuana smokers than for those who smoke regular tobacco. If someone tells you that pot doesn't hurt, you he or she is either uninformed or lying to you. Why take the risk?

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs: These are some of the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that will take up half of each cigarette package. The images are part of a new campaign announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year. "It acts as a very public billboard because you all of the sudden are reading something about lung cancer from that pack behind the cash register, whereas before you were just reading 'Marlboro,' " said David Hammond, a health behavior researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who is working with the firm designing the labels with for the FDA. The share of Americans who smoke has fallen dramatically since 1970 from nearly 40 percent to about 20 percent, but those declines have stalled recently.

It would not be in good taste or even legal to use a picture of the president of the United States as part of a product's package design or advertisement. Most states have laws that prohibit the unapproved use of a person's name or likeness for "commercial benefit. " This was not a concern when George Washington (1732-1799) was president (1789-1797). He was admired by the public, but there were no photographs of him and few portraits. Product packaging back then was usually a plain black and white folded paper packet.

PLANKINTON - A last-minute decision to plant tobacco on a 1.5-acre plot in Aurora County has a farm family doing a lot of manual labor. John Mayclin, of Mayclin Farms in rural Plankinton, said a family member in California volunteered him for the task. "Tyton BioSciences had a bunch of transplants left over and wanted to put in a test plot in the Midwest," Mayclin said. When they were contacted, the Mayclins agreed and officials from Danville, Va., made the 1,400-mile drive to Plankinton.

Are people with whom we trust to uphold certain positions of authority above the law? The Brown County Jail is a tobacco-free facility. Well, at least to the inmate population it is. It seems to be that if you are employed there, you are free to have a full lip 24-7. Does tobacco-free facility truly mean free (for all)? As a socially conscious citizen of the Aberdeen community, it is my job, as well as yours, to ask these questions. Rules for convenience, or rules for everyone?

It would not be in good taste or even legal to use a picture of the president of the United States as part of a product's package design or advertisement. Most states have laws that prohibit the unapproved use of a person's name or likeness for "commercial benefit. " This was not a concern when George Washington (1732-1799) was president (1789-1797). He was admired by the public, but there were no photographs of him and few portraits. Product packaging back then was usually a plain black and white folded paper packet.

The Spink County Coalition plans to use a $25,000 state grant it received to create a tobacco prevention curriculum. That includes sending high school students to talk to elementary school kids about tobacco, bringing in experts to educate youth and putting up signs indicating tobacco-free areas, said Le Ann Wasmoen, coordinator for the coalition. The experts, from Minnesota Tobacco Free Youth Recreation, will also help assess what the coalition might to do prevent tobacco use among youth, she said.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story had a mistake. The story has corrected. The Spink County Coalition received a $25,000 grant to improve tobacco prevention and control efforts in its communities. The grant was part of the South Dakota Tobacco control Program, which awarded grants to 12 other communities and schools around the state. Efforts in the past have included working with school districts on tobacco prevention curriculum, working with parks and recreation departments to stress the importance of tobacco-free youth events and other education-based programs.

Many people believe that marijuana should be legalized. I am against the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Unfortunately, I think a couple of states have already done so. A few years ago, I read an article in Reader's Digest Magazine in which an expert stated that the risk of developing lung cancer is 10 times greater for marijuana smokers than for those who smoke regular tobacco. If someone tells you that pot doesn't hurt, you he or she is either uninformed or lying to you. Why take the risk?

The first U.S. Surgeon General warning on tobacco products was required in 1964. Tobacco was labeled as bad for your health. Americans were soon using fewer tobacco products, like cigarettes, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and cigars. In the late Victorian era, use of snuff lost favor, and tobacco was used mainly for pipes. Tobacco is a dried leaf, and it crumbles easily, so it's kept in a container that could used as a humidor. By the mid 19th century, many pottery jars were being made in Germany in amusing shapes.

PIERRE - The Legislature is considering whether tobacco shops that offer machines for rolling your own cigarettes should be classified as manufacturers. The change would mean the cigarettes made there would be subject to the same higher taxes as commercially marketed cigarettes in South Dakota starting July 1, 2014. The House committee on state affairs gave its backing to the change on Wednesday on a 9-4 vote. The legislation, House Bill 1138, would be up for debate by the House of Representatives as soon as Friday afternoon.

South Dakota residents might live longer than the average age of 78.6 if it weren't for tobacco, a state medical official said. The state ranks 20th in average life expectancy in the U.S., according to the American Human Development Report. The top three causes of death in South Dakota are heart disease, cancer and chronic respiratory disease, said Lon Kightlinger, epidemiologist at the South Dakota Department of Health. "Tobacco is a big risk factor in all of the top three leading causes of death in South Dakota," Kightlinger said.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — City property in Sioux Falls is now tobacco-free. The policy that went into effect Monday means there no longer are any designated areas on city property for people who smoke or chew tobacco. It applies to everyone — city employees, customers and contractors. The initiative began in 2009 under Mayor Dave Munson's administration. He tells the Argus Leader that health concerns were the driving factor. Current Mayor Mike Huether says he supports the change The initiative was implemented over time.